Forgotten Millennium Secrets
by Kianti
Summary: Set,god of the desert, has returned to Earth to reclaim his throne,and a single child in the new DA branch will have to fend off the new Millennium wielders as well as the darkness in his soul.


_Forgotten Millennium Secrets _

_Long ago, Set, god of the desert, was cast out of his throne and Horus took his place while his father, Osiris came to rule the underworld. Now, Set has returned to Earth to reclaim his throne in the body of a single child that must not only face the new generation of Millennium wielders in the second branch of Duel Academy, but also the darkness imbedded within his own soul. _

Her nose and eyes stung from the intense concentration of salt that surrounded her as the waves slapped against the boat. It probably lived in every crevice of her clothing now, she'd been up on deck so long, just leaning over the railing and staring eagerly and unmoving at the horizon before her. Her vision was eternally stained blue, and Izzy vaguely wondered if she'd be able to recognize any other color once the vessel struck land.

A single dot appeared on the edge of her vision's limit, becoming larger as the ship continued to move toward it. The enclosed floating space that brought her so far from home suddenly became alive with the buzzing excitement of the other passengers as they too spotted what she had seen before they could. Izzy remained still, watching the dot intently as it grew larger, her heart racing.

Eventually the building neared enough that she could compile a description into her mind. At the end of the wooden dock, a wide dirt road cut into a massive field of green hues, where a circular three-story building stood in its center. Three giant towers reaching what seemed to be forever into the sky were connected by a narrow path that eventually passed through the road at a perpendicular angle, creating a triangle. The tallest tower remained behind the big building from the direction the ship approached, while the other two created a base several meters in front of the buildings' entrance. Izzy felt her breath catch in her throat, before a gasp escaped her lips. It was huge; she'd never imagined that it could be so large. The excited chatter of other children and their parents reached her ears; their footsteps seemed to echo across the deck and in her head as they scrambled for a better look. Some of the others pointed, exclaiming to friends and parents, one girl whooped upon seeing the building.

She turned her head to the sound to find Tami, her best friend leaning half over the railing in shear excitement. "Ri! Izzy! I can see the Obelisk Blue dorms! Look!" A brown haired girl appeared beside Tami with nearly as much excitement. Izzy sighed with mild contempt and leaned against the railing to watch the Island grow larger, letting her mind filter the sounds around her into a dull roar.

'Finally…' She thought silently. 'We're finally here.' She smiled lightly. Her thoughts suddenly came crashing down as Tami pounded on her back, making Izzy jump.

"We made it!" The girl shouted in delight, before running out at the sight of her uncle, and Izzy's father, Seto Kaiba. He'd funded for the new Duel Academy branch. "Can you see it! Right there!" Tami's voice was lost as she led Seto back to the railing farther from Izzy, not that he hadn't seen it enough times already.

Izzy sighed in slight relief, smiling weakly at the girl's energy. Energy… it was something she never could seem to contain for more than a few hours, or even minutes lately. Sighing again, she slid down until her chin rested on her arm folded on top of the railing, staring blankly at the future growing larger and more unknown before her eyes.

Tami's voice broke her concentration again. Most of the passengers had disappeared now to pack their belongings. She pointed out, her excitement barely contained. "It's so big! And I can see the dorms! What dorm will I be in?"

Seto's face remained straight, a skill he'd learned long ago when dealing with Joey's antics back in his late teens before enduring the livelihood of a father. "Slifer Red for the Bakura brat, knowing your skill level." He said after putting her down and leaning against the railing. Cracking a grin at her frown, he ruffled his fingers through her silver white locks and glanced towards his daughter. Seto's eyes seemed to grow slightly colder, loosing the warmth they held with Tami. An unreadable emotion flickered across Izzy's face, having been caught spying.

Tami noticed the slight change and fixed her ears with another frown, not quite understanding it. She glanced towards Izzy, but her gaze was on the now quite large building ahead of them. Her frown deepened in confusion.

Lounging on a bed in Izzy's dorm room within the Ra tower, Tami turned to Izzy, and tossed a pillow at her friend. "You okay Iz? You look down about something," she stated plainly, adjusting to the comfort of the bed. "Oh this is comfy. You got lucky."

Izzy's smile was weak and passive, her mind elsewhere. One finger on the right hand circled the company symbol on the protective box that encased her new laptop, a gift for being ranked middle level. Why had she passed? Tami and she were almost evenly matched that it was sometimes hard to tell who was better. Tami had been on the edge, just a few points off, so she would join them in Ra just as soon as the next examine came up, but she was ranked with Riuka, and they were not matched.

Set had promised her a new laptop if she made it to Ra. He had brought it with him. He had known already. Was he playing with scores?

Tami continued to frown at her long time friend. "I don't get it."

"Neither do I…" She softly, speaking slower, thinking… Or at least trying to. Trying to figure Seto out was like trying to fly.

"I really don't. Why does he hate you?"

Izzy blinked and looked up away from the laptop. Did he? She didn't speak at first, and turned back to the box, frowning at it intently, as if it could give her answers.

"He doesn't really… He's just… different with me I guess… I'm too much like mother…"

Tami frowned. "But he doesn't hate her, does he? I mean... He's your dad. He's supposed to love you more n' anything else in the world. But he doesn't. He acts like he likes me more than you, and that's completely unfair, he should be liking you waaaay more than he likes me. It's wrong."

"He's harder on me than you is all…" As if that justified anything. He was the same with her and Tami once, maybe even better towards Izzy. But he'd changed once she took up dueling, but not towards his niece. Who wasn't technically his niece at all. Seto had always seemed to push her, sometimes so close to her limit that she could hardly take it. Izzy didn't know why she did it, but she wasn't in the mood to think on it anymore. The testing had done her in, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep and try to forget it. Tomorrow Seto would return home to her mother, and Izzy would be free to find her own pace in life.

"I still don't get it. It makes me think of this movie I watched a while ago, Hello Sister Goodbye Life. Except, your dad and step mom didn't die and leave you to watch your seven and a half year old half-sister."

Izzy thought of not having Reth as a mother, and figured she'd probably try to strangle Seto if that ever happened.

With a shrug, Tami changed topics.

"I wish I had a laptop." Reth smiled at this. Her father Bakura wasn't known to give handouts unless you stole it from him first. He didn't encourage the act in his children, but he didn't do anything to prevent it either.

"My old ones got a couple months age to it but it's still good. Wiped it clean on the way here if you want it."


End file.
